Chapter 95: Virtual Game Experience
“What the hell! How many games is this now? Another one copying 'I Am MT'? Can’t they be a little less blatant!”
“Oh my god, just reading the game description tells you everything. Sure enough, card battles. What’s the difference from 'I Am MT'? It’s just a reskin!”
“Say no more. Bad review and I’m out.”
The comment sections of these games quickly exploded. Many players formed groups to spam bad reviews, causing all their ratings to plummet. Starting from an initial 8 points, they dropped all the way down to around 6.5.
'Demon Slayer Calamity' had slightly better production quality than the other games, so its rating was a bit higher, but it still only managed a 7.1.
Many players also flocked to Chen Mo’s Weibo to comment: “Look at what you’ve done! You’ve led all the other designers astray. Now what kind of games are they all making...”
Complaints were complaints, and bad reviews were bad reviews, but as players came to their senses, they realized that although these games had low ratings, their download numbers were quite high, and quite a few people were playing them.
Many players felt speechless. Who exactly was playing these games?
...
On the official forum of 'Demon Slayer Calamity':
“I really want a main character card. Damn, I can’t resist the urge to spend money!”
“Another person came to accuse us of plagiarism...”
“Let them curse. Don’t bother with them. We’ll just play our game.”
“I think Imperial Dynasty’s products are reliable. 'I Am MT' is okay, but it’s from a small company. Spending money on it just feels unsettled.”
“'Demon Slayer Calamity' has good quality too. At least it’s not inferior to 'I Am MT'.”
“To be honest, swapping in the assets from 'Demon Slayer Calamity' doesn’t feel out of place either.”
“Add friends to send stamina, everyone!”
...
Soon, the revenue data for these card games came out, and none of them were low! 'Demon Slayer Calamity' had the best results. Industry insiders estimated that its monthly revenue might even approach the 23 million that 'I Am MT' had at its peak.
Arguments and counter-arguments were inevitable. This time, Imperial Dynasty Interactive had learned their lesson. No matter how much the fans argued, the official side stubbornly played the role of the turtle, keeping their heads down and saying nothing.
After this batch of games, many game designers realized one thing: this card game model could be applied to almost any theme. Just copy it exactly, and you could make money!
Sure, you’d get cursed out, but you could make money!
The popularity of 'Demon Slayer Calamity' and this batch of card mobile games sparked another wave of card game fever. Designers who had been on the fence also started to act, putting the development of 'I Am MT'-style card mobile games on their schedules.
For a time, the entire mobile gaming scene was thrown into chaos.
Or rather... filled with a foul atmosphere.
...
On the other side, Chen Mo had gone quiet.
'Thunder Chess and Cards' had been on the front-page recommendation slot of the Imperial Dynasty game platform for a month before being taken down, but Chen Mo continued to give out prizes.
With that kind of user base, whether or not there was a promotional slot no longer mattered.
After 'Lifeline', Chen Mo hadn’t announced any new game development plans. Most designers breathed a temporary sigh of relief, but they were also guessing what Chen Mo’s next move would be.
At this point, Chen Mo had capital and players. If he could continue his previous success and develop a few more blockbuster games, his growth rate would be terrifying.
Many designers secretly prayed: “Let this monster take a break for a year or two. We can’t take it anymore!”
...
Chen Mo tried touching the wall in front of him.
A very realistic sensation came from his fingertips.
Walking, jumping, throwing punches—Chen Mo tried a few movements. They felt no different from reality, and his strength and speed had increased significantly.
Right now, Chen Mo felt like an athlete. Even after running quickly for a while, he wasn’t out of breath at all.
“The VR games in this world have already reached this level? Impressive.”
Chen Mo couldn’t help but marvel.
Yes, Chen Mo was currently lying in the game pod at his studio, experiencing the foreign VR game 'Earth Online'.
This game was hugely popular at the moment, with over seven million users worldwide. It was also the hottest VR game right now.
Of course, that user count seemed relatively small, considering Chen Mo’s Thunder Game Platform already had tens of millions of users. This was mainly because the cost of VR games was too high, and VR game pods were still far from being as widespread as PCs.
The price of a VR game pod generally ranged from 50,000 to 200,000 yuan.
As for the top-tier models... there was no upper limit. Many VR pod manufacturers offered customization services—as long as you paid, they could add any special components.
For the experience VR games offered, this price wasn’t too expensive, but it wasn’t cheap either.
Different VR games had different requirements for game pods. For a game like 'Earth Online', you needed a top-tier pod just to run it.
Moreover, the VR games themselves were very expensive.
The development cost of a VR game was basically ten times that of a PC triple-A title. The average development cost for a PC triple-A game was around 40 million USD. To achieve the same world-building in a VR game, you’d easily need over 100 million USD.
In China, only a few big companies like Imperial Dynasty Interactive and Zen Interactive could afford that kind of R&D cost.
With high R&D costs came high prices. 'Earth Online' was priced at 399 USD. In China, the price fluctuated around that range.
The number of wealthy players willing to spend over 100,000 yuan on a game pod and then a few thousand yuan on a game was ultimately small. For most ordinary players, VR games were nice, but they were still fake. With that kind of money, it was better to buy a car.
It was precisely because VR game pods were so expensive that VR internet cafes had emerged. These cafes typically charged 50 to 200 yuan per hour. Players who couldn’t afford a game pod had to go to VR internet cafes to experience VR games.
Because of the high R&D costs and the small user base, the development of VR games hadn’t been smooth sailing. There was still a long way to go before they could completely replace PCs.
Chen Mo’s current location was the newbie zone of 'Earth Online', a reception room. It seemed each player had their own instance, separate from others.
A large screen nearby was looping the in-game instructions. Chen Mo skimmed through them and quickly understood the core gameplay of this game.
'Earth Online' was a simulation game where players could experience life choices completely different from the real world.
A blind person could become a pilot here. A frail and sickly person could become an athlete.
In 'Earth Online', everyone’s initial attributes were set to the same level (initial attributes mainly referred to health, physique, strength, speed, etc.). Players had to start from scratch, accept low-level quests, work to earn money, and through special selections or quests, fulfill their life dreams.
'Earth Online’s' slogan was: Here, you can experience a completely different life.